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The Jihad (episode)
The Vedala, the first race to invent space travel, summon Kirk and Spock to recover the Soul of the Skorr, a stolen religious artifact that has the potential to ignite a holy war across the galaxy. Summary :"Captain's log: Stardate 5683.1. We're making a rendezvous with the Vedala asteroid on a unique mission. The Vedala are the oldest space faring race we know. They say something incredibly dangerous to the safety of our galaxy is developing and they have sent for selected specialists including Spock and myself." Kirk then tells Sulu to maintain position and tells Scott he has his orders. Kirk and Spock beam down to the asteroid and are welcomed by a Vedala female, who introduces them to the others who will form their expedition: Tchar, the hereditary prince of the Skorr; Sord, a powerful reptilian and Master of the Iri; Em/3/Green, an expert lock-pick and thief; and Lara, a great hunter with a flawless sense of direction. The Vedala tells them that Spock was chosen for his analytical mind and scientific expertise, and Captain Kirk for his leadership abilities and adaptability. Tchar explains their top-secret mission. Two centuries past his people were great warriors with advanced military technology and the ability to breed vast armies rapidly. Today they are a civilized people because of Alar, a religious leader, their teacher and salvation, who brought them peace and made them great. He died and was made immortal by recording his brain patterns and preserving them in a piece of sculpture, the Soul of the Skorr. The Vedala tells the team that the artifact has been stolen, but that the theft has been kept secret. If it is discovered missing, it could ignite a galaxy-wide holy war, a jihad. Now it'is hidden on a very unstable "mad planet". It has constant earthquakes, harsh weather, gravity shifts, tidal waves, volcanic lava flow, and severe winds. Three expeditions have tried to recover the Soul of the Skorr but they were all lost. Kirk agrees to lead this next expedition. The Vedala transports the group to the planet where the Soul of the Skorr is hidden. After barely escaping a lava river, they near a position that Tchar spots from the air. Kirk and Lara explore the terrain ahead while Tchar flies on to investigate the fortress where the Soul of the Skorr is being kept. Spock notes the Vedala were efficient in equipping them and he will become acquainted with their supplies. Lara comes from a world with numerous females and tells Kirk she finds him attractive. He puts her off by reminding her of their mission. Rejoining the group, they head for the fortress on foot to rendezvous with Tchar. Encountering a lava flow, they divert it into a ravine. Lara directs them out of the flow path and they circumnavigate it. Em is tired and wants to be left behind, but Kirk has Sord carry him. Sord sees a lifeform on the supposedly uninhabited planet. Upon reaching the fortress, Em must quickly pick the locks or they will explode. The team is attacked by mechanical birds that protect the building. They narrowly make it inside and survive a set of traps. They find the Soul of the Skorr a thousand feet up in the air within the fortress, but the group is caught in a place without locks, so Em/3/Green can't free them. Kirk expected this, concluding that the previous missions failed because of sabotage from within each expedition. Kirk suspects that it was Tchar who originally stole the artifact. Tchar admits his treachery, saying that his people have become a docile race, slaves to the illusion of peace, cowards lost in their comfort. This sick dream, as he views it, has stolen the Skorrs' souls. He is the Prince who wants to lead his people into battle because the ensuing war will make them great again, or if his race dies, they will have at least fought well, living and dying with honor. Tchar starts a fight with Kirk and Spock, who win and insist on taking Tchar back to the Vedala. The Vedala thank them and assure them Tchar will be treated for his madness, but the Vedala can offer no reward to the expedition: for the good of the Skorr, their mission must always remain secret. The Vedala promises there will be no questions and no medals, only their thanks. In time, the members of the expedition will even lose their memory of the mission. Kirk and Spock return to the Enterprise and find that, remarkably, only two minutes have passed since they beamed down to the asteroid. Kirk tells Sulu the Vedala changed their minds and orders everyone back to their stations. They have a lot of places to go. Memorable Quotes "You ever quote anything beside statistics, Vulcan?" "Yes, but philosophy and poetry are not appropriate here." : - Lara and Spock "Far too close, Captain. I appreciate your action on my behalf but your first duty is to the group and the mission." "Quite right, Spock, and that responsibility includes not losing the best science officer in Starfleet." "You two going to argue honors or are we going to get on with it?" : - Spock, Kirk, and Sord "I can't go any farther. I'm not even afraid anymore, just very tired." : - Em/3/Green "The re-wiring of the power leads is complex and time-consuming." "I could do it if you can diagram the schematics, sir." : - Spock and Em/3/Green "Kirk, there is a ravine sixty meters to your left. If it can be blocked, the lava will flow past those rocks to one side." "Got it!" : - Tchar and Kirk "I'm not built for that sort of thing, I'll wait for you down here." : - Sord "I know you are, a thousand feet up, no method of reaching the soul except by air, by flight, Tchar." : - Kirk, accusing Tchar Background Information * The four starships seen in orbit of Vedala were drawings reused from . * This episode's author Stephen Kandel also wrote , as well as the two Harry Mudd episodes of and . * After and , this is the third of three animated episodes that do not feature any scenes set on the ''Enterprise'''s bridge. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (CIC Video): Volume 4, catalogue number VHR 2538, . *As part of the ''The Animated Series'' DVD collection. Links and References Regular Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * George Takei as Sulu Guest Stars * Majel Barrett as: ** Lara ** Vedala female * James Doohan as: ** Sord ** Tchar * David Gerrold as Em/3/Green References Alar; asteroid; Birdman; Eyrie; Federation warrior races; gravity neutralizer; hologram; indurite; insect; jihad; Kelvin; mechanical sentinel; null-gravity combat exercises; phaser bank; power pack; Seven Gods; Skorr; Skorr temple; Soul of Alar; Soul of the Skorr; specialist; standard year; timed-trigger; Vedala; Vulcans |next= }} Jihad, The de:Das gestohlene Gehirnwellenmuster es:The Jihad fr:The Jihad nl:The Jihad